Business Summit Success

Tameside’s private and public sectors have declared their determination to work together to steer the borough through the economic downturn.

Following an invitation from the Civic Mayor, Cllr Jack Davis, executives from Tameside’s biggest companies met MPs, councillors and senior council officers on Friday at a business summit at Dukinfield Town Hall organised as part of the Tameside Works First initiative.

Cllr Roy Oldham, the executive leader of Tameside Council, set the scene by stressing that the recession had not been caused by the trade cycle, as is normally the case, but was the result of a banking crisis which had led to a loss of confidence in the entire financial system.

He said: “The prevailing attitude in the country is that the Government will somehow sort things out, but that’s not good enough. We all have to play our part. We want to create an enduring and sustainable initiative which benefits all parties.”

The consensus was that more must be done to provide job opportunities for young people through apprenticeships, and that the borough, and indeed the country, need a better-educated and trained workforce if they are to prosper within a high-tech, global economy.

Reflecting this, James Purnell, the MP for Stalybridge and Hyde and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, outlined the Future Jobs Fund which has been set up to generate employment for those in greatest need, particularly the under-25s.

He explained: “We are not talking cheap labour here. We are talking about a public works scheme which is good for the community and good for the individuals taking part in terms of skills and learning.”

Cllr Kieran Quinn, Executive Member for economic services who heads Tameside Works First, said: “Tameside’s recovery depends on businesses being successful. This summit demonstrated the good relationships which exist across the borough between the public and private sectors.”

Also attending the summit were Andrew Gwynne, the MP for Denton and Reddish, Conservative group leader Cllr John Bell and the acting chief executive of Tameside Council, Steven Pleasant.

Companies represented were the Stamford Group , Mono Pumps , Brother UK , New Charter Housing Trust Group , Benchmark Building Supplies , Hyde Group Holdings , Newland Engineering  and Kerry Foods .